In Perfect Harmony
by Random Clone
Summary: The air was sweet with the scent of Spring...
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: Nothing in this story belongs to me. Nothing at all, zilch, nada. _**

**A/N: **Much thanks to **HOODOO** for beta'ing and encouraging me! It was much needed! Also, if you have a problem with this fic, please glance at my bio before telling me about it. If you _still_ have a problem with it, then drop me a line!

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I ran.

My legs burned fiercely in protest of the punishing pace I forcing on them, my breathing reduced to ragged gasps. The ground was soft beneath my calloused feet, the new grass yielding to my harried footsteps.

Every step I ran, I left a trail of crimson upon the newly birthed stems.

My left hand futilely gripped the crater that had been blown in my plastron; no matter how much pressure I applied, crimson red still stubbornly ran out. If I had been able to admit it to myself, I would have been alarmed at the amount seeping through my blood-stained hand.

My breathing echoed wretchedly in my ears as I stumbled through the wakening forest. I had to find a place to hole up, I thought dazedly, relentlessly trying to keep my mutinous body at the abusing tempo. I wasn't thinking clearly. The thought never occurred to me that all my would-be murderers had to do was follow the yellow-brick road. As it were. But I wasn't thinking straight, and my focus was zeroed in on finding shelter.

I don't know how long I had been running before I collapsed, my legs refusing to take another step. My graceless fall had happened in the middle of a small clearing but I didn't have the strength to drag my sorry carcass to a nearby shrub and attempt to hide.

I lay there on the ground, lungs screaming and wheezing for the sweetly scented oxygen they so desperately needed. I could distantly feel the rest of my body trembling uncontrollably against the warm earth. Everything seemed so muted. Adrenaline still coursed through my veins and subdued any pain that had been inflicted. All I could do for several long minutes was fight to remain conscious. The trees overhead swam like a kaleidoscope and for a moment I was afraid that my stomach was going to jump out of my throat. But presently the roiling nausea calmed to a simmer and the trees reluctantly stepped back to their resting places.

But with that small relief came a curse.

Pain--overwhelming, sharp, _electrifying_--shot through me. I plastered a shaking hand to my side again and had to bite back an agonized groan. My eyes watered at the sheer _intensity _of it. I choked out a curse, my voice breaking. I could feel my warm, viscous blood seeping between my clenched fingers and running down my side.

I could hear my Donnie-conscience yelling at me to _examine the wound and stem the bleeding!_ except in terms that I didn't understand. I got the gist of it, anyways.

Gritting my teeth together, I levered myself up on my right elbow and tried to get a look at my wound. The pain was excruciating; my lungs siezed at my abomen's fierce scream of protest and I ground out several colorful words before I could breathe properly again.

Sweat was rolling down my head at an alarming rate. Funny, that at the time I was more worried about dehydrating than bleeding to death.

But that was before I got a good look at my bullet wound.

The slug had hit me in the right side of my chest, a black-edged crater spurting blood. My mind flew to Donnie again. A few months ago he sat all of us down to give us a "basic" course in emergency med treatment. Needless to say, my brain quit working after five minutes of him spouting medical terms, but sitting on the ground with blood gushing out of me caused me to think _real_ hard about what Don had been teaching about chest wounds. Something about livers and blood and..._ Trauma to the liver would cause massive amounts of bleeding__ and internal hemorrhaging..._

I felt nauseous. There was no way in _shell_ that I could get to the lair with an injury like this. Thinking back on it, I consider it a miracle that I'd even been able to _stand up_, much less run. Adrenaline could do amazing things to a turtle's constitution.

I felt my mind begin to wander. My eyes left the gaping hole in my plastron and drifted to my red-stained belt where my two trusty sai resided. Or used to, leastways.

"Aw, _shell,"_ was all I could bite out. The thought of my precious sai lying lost in some god-forsaken wilderness angered me; it angered me more to think that some two-bit, half-weaned punks could be pawing all over my cherished weapons. I growled, forgetting the important fact that I was bleeding kinda profusely. But by then the pain had sort of dimmed, anyway.

Curses that would curl the hair of my sensei flew through the air as I groped around for my shell cell. The keypad danced lazily in front of my eyes before solidifying enough for me to angrily punch in Leo's number.

_"Raph, is that you?"_

_Duh, Leo, of course it's me. Who else would be using _my shell cell_ number?_ I thought testily. I considered telling him off, but I settled for a simpler answer.

"They took M'sai."

It was easier to articulate than a long string of curses. And since when had it gotten so difficult to form words?

_"Raph, where have you been? We've been worried sick!"_

Leave it to Fearless to worry about insignificant details.

"Leo--"

_"Raph, tell me where you are, can you do that_?"

Throughout the conversation, if you could call it that, Leo's voice had inched upwards an octave. I could tell he was worried or angry about something. And I guessed that it had something to do with my illicitly sneaking out of the lair last night. I growled at the thought of someone _my age _needing a dang curfew.

"Shaddup, Leo."

My throat felt raw, and my voice had all the musicality of tires on gravel.

"Those _idiots _took _M'sai_."

_Can't you understand_? I wanted to growl at him, but didn't have the strength to voice. In fact, this whole conversation was getting me really tired.

_"Raph_, listen _to me; _listen _to me, Bro." _

The utter fear and simulataneous authority in Leo's voice cut off any protest I might have made.

_"Raph, are you there?" _

I tried to grunt an affirmative but all that came out was a wet cough.

_"Raph, are you injured?" _

I heard a roar in the background and vaguely recognized the Battle Shell's throaty voice.

"_Talk to me, Bro."_

The pain in my side had subsided to a low-grade throb; the bleeding even had started to slow.

_"Raph?"_

"M'fine. It don't 'urt nomorrrr..."

I stretched out the last word, enjoying how the "r" reverberated in my head.

_"Raph, keep talking, alright? We're coming to get you."_

Irritation soared through me and I opened my mouth to tell them _exactly _what I thought of them babysitting me. But instead my lungs decided to convulse.

Agony ripped through my side as I tried to drag air into my lungs in between paroxysms. I was whimpering by the time the attack subsided. Tears and sweat mingled together as they ran down my chilled face.

My shell was to the ground, my eyes staring at the fleece-white clouds scudding across the azure sky. Distantly, as if in a dream, I could hear someone's tinny voice screaming at me.

I drew in a labored breath, suddenly feeling short-winded.

And all I could think about in that moment was how the air smelled of Spring.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**_ Thanks, guys, for the reviews! They are very much appreciated! And much thanks to **Hoodoo** for the beta'ing of this __chapter!_

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The air was sweet with the scent of Spring.

Raphael closed his eyes as a thousand different aromas blew past him, dancing on the strains of the fresh breeze. Soft, newborn grass covered the awakening ground, carpeting the dirt with undulating waves of vibrant emerald.

He ran calloused fingers across the tender shoots that strained for the sun's warm caress, that yearned for the star's golden touch to break to icy bonds of winter. At every touch of the honey-colored rays of light, Earth responded with its oft-repeated renaissance.

His eyes were slowly drawn to the sky, endless field of blue stretching far into his peripheral, marred only by a lone, white cloud cavorting hand-in-hand with the teasing wind. In his mind's eye he imagined it to be a vast, turquoise ocean with the billowing sail of a foreign ship sailing for some distant, exotic horizon...

An inhaled breath, and the intoxicating scent of _life_ filled his lungs. He could hear the faint songs of birds like a tickling on the edge of his hearing with the distant buzzing of bees carrying on in the background.

His gaze wandered from the sky to a grove of saplings surrounding his serene glade. The breeze danced like delicate faeries in the jade-green canopies, tip-toeing from one aerial branch to another. He could picture their angular, pixie faces grinning at one another as they cavorted among the ancient spirits of the forest.

_God, I'm such a girl,_ he thought with distant chagrin at his fantastical imaginings. But he kept his hazel eyes fixed on the swaying branches.

The trees hummed a chorus to accompany the spirits' whirling dance. Their soft murmurings echoed over the hills and reverberated around his prone form with a strange, soft intensity. It was a hidden song, a private symphony held only for a chosen few. He felt his consciousness glide with the gentle thrum of the life surrounding him.

A stream purled nearby. _Silver._ He could picture it vividly; liquid silver sliding over amethyst-colored stones, reflecting the all-seeing, golden master of the sky. Its silver burble swelled majestically with the forest's musical resonance, lilting as it entwined and melded with the wood's gentle melody.

A warm breeze slid across his open eyes and slack face. He closed his eyes and inhaled the nectar-sweet air deep into his lungs. The airy smell of new, Spring flowers soothed his tense body as the pure scent entered his lungs. With closed eyes he imagined woodland elves gliding about him in celebration of the rebirth of Mother Earth.

His hazel eyes opened again and he lazily gazed about him. To his left a clump of yellow Buttercups peeked their tiny, dew-drenched heads out of the safety of their buds. Their blue-jade stems sprouted in soft contrast to the emerald grass. Shimmering droplets of dew sparkled brightly in the cheery rays of golden sunlight creating a delicate carpet of diamonds across the forest clearing.

He slowly closed his fingers around the crimson that coated his palm, the back of his hand brushing against scarlet blades of grass. His eyes were drawn to the red-tinged sward that touched his side. Translucent shoots of green grass were shot through with garnet red, highlighted by the sun's cheery tendrils. He found the picture oddly mesmerizing.

The strange pain in his chest was dissipating at the wind's light touch and his eyes drifted shut to the sound of the forest's magnificent symphony. In his grantedly limited experience, he had never heard anything so exquisite; Beethoven hadn't prevailed over the perfect synchrony displayed in nature; Mozart had never come close. This hidden forest thrummed with a flawless harmony that none could replicate and all wished to.

The soothing warmth of the breeze gently dried the sweat that stood on his brow. The intoxicating aromas carried upon it eased his sharp pain with each shallow breath he inhaled.

A ghostly touch rushed over his consciousness and he slowly opened his eyes to see four figures standing at the edge of his hidden sanctuary. He raised a ruby drenched hand in greeting but didn't interrupt the majestic chorus surrounding him by speaking. Mikey was the only one to return his gesture, his blue-tinged aura leaving ghostly trails of light in its wake.

They fondly looked upon him with expressions of somber, loving acceptance. He didn't wonder why they didn't come rushing to his side to try and stem the crimson tide pouring from his shattered plastron; he knew they realized that Nature's song was the only balm that could soothe him now. A rush of regret filled his chest as he regarded his brothers and father, commemorating their features, committing every detail to memory.

Mikey's face, so full of joy and mischief; Don's, regarding him with stern gentleness; Leo's, looking on with respect and honor; his Father's, an expression of grief-ridden acceptance.

Every one of their ghostly faces exuded an overwhelming sense of love that caused him to close his eyes as a sudden wave of grief filled them with tears. When the feeling passed, he opened his eyes to his see his family fading slowly away. The wind tugged gently at their incorporeal bodies as they stood motionless, looking upon him. His eyes were fixed on them; he smiled fondly at them through his tears.

His father suddenly broke away from his brothers and padded soundlessly across the sea of ruby covered diamonds, coming to a stop at his second youngest's side. His father looked down at him, his fading expression one of pride and love. Even as the old rat's features blurred, he kneeled at his son's side and layed a ghostly hand on his face.

Raphael's eyes misted at the intensity of the love in Splinter's gaze. He distantly realized that both he and his Father didn't have much time left. As if realizing this, his Father leaned down and embraced his prone son. Raph closed his glazed eyes and felt a faint breath brush against his ear.

_"I love you, my son."_

Those five words echoed sharply through his soul; the shackles that bound his spirit broke into a hundred shards and sang in unison with the concert enveloping the forest glade.

He opened his eyes and caught one last glimpse of his beloved father before he faded from sight. Raphael's eyes slid shut once more to nature's sweet lullaby. Peace enveloped him as he inhaled deeply; he felt his consciousness falling under the spell of its siren song. His soul rang in harmony with the spirits surrounding the magical glade as it departed him with a fond farewell.

The forest swelled in its perfected symphony, welcoming the soul joining its ancient dance.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_And since it's my birthday today, I thought that I'd post the final chapter! I will note, however, that it is slightly possible that I may post two more chapters in the future, although I'm going to mark this story as completed. 'Cos I probably won't get around to writing those two chapters. Thanks again to the magnificent **Hoodoo **for the fantabulous beta-job! And thanks much to my anonymous reviewers! Ya'll are great! :)_

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There are some things in life that terrify me

My family would expect that my nightmares stem from the Shredder. Am I afraid of the Shredder? I certainly respect his power, and I _do_ feel a certain degree of fear of him. But he doesn't terrify me. No, the terrors that keep me company at night come from visions of broken brothers lying in some abandoned ally, of my dear Father writhing from a mortal battle wound.

To lose part of my family would cause a part of me to die. It would cause unstoppable ramifications in my remaining clan, ramifications which I, as their oldest brother, their _leader_, would be unable to stop. We are bound by the steel bonds of brotherhood; what happens to one, happens to all.

And at that moment, I could feel my soul shudder in that terrible fear.

My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to keep up with Donnie's unyielding pace. His eyes were glued to the small LED screen in his hand, save for an occasional glance forward to note any obstacles. He slid to an abrupt stop, a grey pond blossoming at his feet, its tranquil waters lazily lapping at the springtime-green shore.

''Donnie?" Mikey shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot as he regarded his older brother, his hands restlessly fingering his nunchucks.

Donnie shook his head, his eye-ridges furrowing in panic. "I-I don't... It just went blank--Leo, it just went blank!" Don's voice escalated as he frantically pushed various buttons on his homemade, tracking device. I glanced over his shoulder to see a blank screen. Dead. Black.

"Don, can you remember Raph's last position?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm; the tremor betrayed my panic. I couldn't help him with electronics, but I could help him keep focused.

Before I had finished asking the question, Don had already pried off the back of the device. "It isn't that simple, Leo." I could hear the sign of rising anger in his voice as his fingers tested connections and tweaked wire positions. "

The tracker could have completely misinterpreted his position. I can't find _anything_ wrong with it; that leads me to think that it was behaving inappropriately before now." Donnie said belligerently. I could tell from his tense posture and harsh breathing that he was more than a little alarmed. He sounded downright panicked. "For all I know it could've chosen a random cell signal and bounced _that_ signal to my tracking device. It—God, Leo, it was just an experiment. This piece of _junk_ hasn't even been tested!" He snarled, crushing the useless piece of technology in his hand.

I sighed heavily, my eyes searching the woods for an answer to my predicament. "But it's the only lead we've got?"

Don's hands trembled.

"Yeah."

His word was a barely choked-out whisper.

"Uh, Leo...?" Mikey stammered, "I think you s-should--"

Mikey's thin voice was cut off by the sound of him retching. I spun around to see him on his hands and knees, shaking uncontrollably. Sharing a worried look with Don, I eased over and layed a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder...

"Leo."

Don's voice was hushed but urgent. I looked in the direction of his pointing finger and saw a crimson painted clearing. Rolling nausea caused me to break into a cold sweat. _It_ was everywhere_._ It coated the grass in grisly chestnut and drizzled haphazardly down tree-trunks; the sickening smell wafted cloyingly on the light, early morning breeze.

The viscous liquid led a clear path into the forest, drops of it frosting the grass and bushes. Two bodies lay in growing pools of blood at the base of a towering oak tree. Through swimming vision I saw Donnie inch over to them, his facade of professionalism effectively taking over. In careful succession he placed two, green fingers to each of their carotid arteries. Without a word he looked at me and shook his head. His face was a grim mask as he surveyed the numerous bruises and stab wounds that decorated their lifeless bodies.

"Leo, these wounds were made by sai," I heard Don grind out.

Confusion was my first reaction. Raph _killing? Raph, _killing? Sure, my younger brother was a hot-head, but he would never...

Don continued his examination of the bodies. I saw his jaw suddenly clench as he roughly grabbed one of the bodies and pushed it callously aside. Beneath the corpse lay a gun, its cool metal covered in a macabre coat of vermilion. Don turned his back to me and gingerly picked up the firearm, appraising the cold apparatus with a malevolent glare. He swiveled his head back to me, his eyes steely and his hands hanging onto the gun with a deathgrip.

"There are several bullets expended, Leo."

It felt as if a physical force had slammed into my plastron. _Raph had been shot_. I tried my best to remain calm, to think objectively, to formulate a _plan, _but my eyes were inexorably drawn to the drying droplets of sun-dappled blood, to the pitiless instrument of death that my brother held in blood-dampened hands. Then, during their migration, my eyes caught the glint of silver. It was no more than a dull gleam in the midst of the shaded forest, but I _knew _what we'd find there.

"Don..." I pointed, my legs refusing to obey my command to walk, my voice barely rising above a whisper. Don's eyes caught on the object of my attention. His face became carefully blank as he walked over and squatted down to get a better look. A vehement curse and he was standing again, gun discarded, clutching two, blood-soaked sai.

_Those _idiots_ stole _M'sai.

_They stole M'sai, Leo._

I wavered and groaned before falling to my knees beside Mikey, stomach heaving. Bile burned my throat as I coughed and heaved up what little I had eaten for breakfast. I felt Mikey's reassuring hand on my shaking shoulder as my stomach began to calm.

"Looks like we won't need the homing device."

Mikey's voice was weak and soft as he grabbed my shoulder and helped me to a standing position. I nodded silently and eased forward to follow the grisly trail of breadcrumbs our brother had inadvertently left.

My stomach continued to clench and roll as I began to run. The blood trail was spotty but easy to follow to a trained eye. Several times I almost lost my fragile pretense of calm as I plunged heedlessly through the forest, my eyes searching for the next ruby leaf or crimson blade of grass.

But suddenly at that time, when the situation was painfully dire, I found myself worrying about the most unimportant, miniscule things. Did Don remember to take the Battle Shell's keys out of the ignition? Did Master Splinter turn off the tea-kettle? Did we remember to close the door to the warehouse after our hasty departure?

My gait began to flag and I was desperately gulping in draughts of oxygen to keep my legs going. I held the blood-encrusted sai firmly in my grip, willing my brother's weapons to lend me strength. My pace quickened again, and it was only dimly that I realized that my two brothers were lagging behind.

I rounded a cusp of green fingered, oak saplings and was presented with a clearing, a small, sun-speckled clearing perfumed with the aroma of newborn wildflowers, surrounded by gently swaying aspen and maple trees. And there, lying prone on the red-tinged grass, was my brother. I accelerated as much as my weary body would allow and dropped heavily beside him.

"Raph?"

One, crimson hand lay limply beside a gaping hole in his plastron. Blood sluggishly leaked out of the cavity and slid slowly down his yellow carapace. His face was slack, his chest immobile.

"D-Donnie!"

I felt the scream rip from my throat as I frantically felt for a pulse to no avail.

"_Don--"_

"I'm here bro, move aside."

And with the placid expertise that only Don could muster, my younger brother shoved me aside and felt at Raph's neck. His eyes narrowed to slits as he pressed harder against my brother's throat. Then, weakly, his olive-green hand fell away. He shook his head disbelievingly before slowly standing and lurching to towards a gnarled oak on the edge of the clearing.

I stared at Raphael's face in shock. _You can't be dead, Raph._ My eyes watered, salty tears rolling down my face and dripping forlornly to my immobile brother's scarred plastron. Mikey dropped beside Raph, his hands ghosting to his brother's chest. I could hear his broken sobs as I bowed my head and tried to stem the flow of grief cascading down my face.

I heard Don hissed an angry curse before he, too, returned and fell beside his fallen brother.

There we four were. Together, as it was meant to be.

Time passed impossibly fast. The sun had long since met her zenith and was grudgingly surrendering the sky to night, leaving a vibrant trail of coral and magenta as testimony to her battle.

"We need to leave. Master Splinter..." I let the sentence hang in the cool, evening air. My throat closed and another wave of tears clouded my eyes. I stubbornly fisted them away.

"Don, help me get Raph on my shoulder."

Don looked like he was about to protest, but stayed silent. Unbidden, Mikey went to Raph's arms. I leaned over Raph, looking deeply into his face, memorizing every feature, every scar. What suddenly struck me about him was his face. His features were calm, at peace even; they weren't twisted in a painful grimace as I would have expected. I felt a much-needed strength well up inside my soul.

With renewed vigor, I and my brothers gently hoisted Raph's body onto my shell. Don led the way out of the hidden glade and Mikey brought up the rear. I clung desperately to my brother's cold form as I placed one weary foot in front of the other, willing myself to have the strength to bring my Father's slain son home.

_"Hey, Bro."_

My heart jolted in my chest. An eternity seemed to pass before I slowly turned my body around to face--

"Raph?"

He was as peaceful as I'd ever seen him, his face relaxed and drenched in serenity.

I knew this specter wasn't real; my pseudo-brother was tinged with a blue aura that softened his naturally hard features. But my soul didn't listen to my mind's stern cries for reality. My heart leaped wildly in my chest. "Raph, what--"

Raph looked at me and cracked a cocky, half smile, effectively silencing my questions.

"_Take care of 'em, Bro."_

His voice cracked and his chin fell to his chest as he fought for stability to continue.

"_And do me a favor, will ya? Don't blame yourself. There wasn't nothin' you coulda done, Leo."_

I opened my mouth to speak to him, to ask him _what was going on_, but a regal lady with flowing, green hair stepped out from behind a grove of trees and motioned for Raph to come to her. Her angular features were alight with joy and her bare, white feet danced in tandem to some unheard melody.

Raph smiled at me, backing towards the green nymph.

_"Leo, do somethin' else for me?"_

I nodded, my brown eyes locked with his hazel ones.

"_Tell everyone... Tell 'em that I love 'em, will ya?"_

He turned his back to me seemingly ready to depart. But he suddenly turned his head to me, his face shining with brotherly love.

_"And Bro? I love you too."_

And then he was gone, fading into the night as surely as the last rays of sunlight.

"Leo?" Mikey was looking at me with swollen, questioning, blue eyes. I shook my head and favored him with a watery smile before resuming my painful journey. My grip tightened on Raph's lifeless arm and I felt a thick knot form in my throat.

I closed my eyes before raising them to the starry heavens, crystal droplets coursing down my starlit face. Even in this pain, I felt a soothing tranquility descend upon my soul. I smiled through my tears at the diamond-studded sky as I imagined the blue-tinged specter of my brother watching over me.

"I love you too, Raph."

And in that moment I swore I could hear a sweet melody rising on the strains of the night wind, like a tickling on the edge of my hearing.

_Fin_


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